163 STORYLINE APPROACH AS ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND CHARACTER BUILDING AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Frimadhona Syafri Rini Susanti Wulandari Semarang State University Abstract Using stories in teaching foreign language, it forces the teacher to be crative and innovative to encourage the young learners to enjoy reading stories. The teacher has to be smart to select which one approaches or methods which can enhance learning foreign language and character building in the teaching foreign language process.The storyline approach was specifically designed for the use at primary schools. The storyline method (Storyline) for teaching children at primary schools was mainly developed in 1967 by a team of teachers from Jordanhill College of Education (now known as University of Strathclyde) in Glasgow, Scotland. The primary schools in Scotland use a curriculum that involves integration of new topics, such as environmental studies and expressive arts, in their teaching foreign language process. This method could be one of alternative method that be applied in teaching foreign language to Elementary School or English Courses for Children in Indonesia. Introduction Learning a foreign language could be frustrating for some young learners; however, integrating fun in learning would encourage them to develop positive attitudes towards learning a language (Ellis & Brewster, 1991). Actually, there are many methods or techniques how to teach a foreign language to young learners at elementary schools. One of them is using stories. They are an effective and enthusiastic technique in teaching young learners; they inject lots of amusement and help children enjoy learning foreign language in purposeful communication. Wright (1997) & Garvie (1990) as quoted by Cameron (2001:160) said that ―Stories are frequently claimed to bring many benefits to young learner classrooms, including language development‖. Related to the previous statement, Vernon (http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm) states―Stories are perfect for teaching young ESL students because children already love stories and are already motivated at the thought of listening to one. And when children listen to stories, they‘re able to internalize the language structure.‖ Using Stories in Teaching Foreign Language to Young learners Teaching a foreign language to young learners is different from teaching adults; it is definitely not easier but it is more challenging and interesting. The Critical Period Hypothesis suggests that early exposure of the target language is different from later stages that young learners learn a foreign language better than adults (Cameron, 2001). He differentiates young learners from adults as follow: